Although this labeling trick implies that this is the same chicken as the food that consumers purchase in the supermarket, it is not. They are also the primary source of the “fresh” chicken in dry dog foods that are marketed as chicken first. It is these chicken frames, plus varying amounts of internal organs, intestines, heads, and sometimes feet, that are sent to rendering plants and processed into chicken meal. Pet Food Grade Chicken: Chicken frames are composed of small bits of muscle meat plus a lot of connective tissue and bone. In the case of chicken, this comes in the form of “ chicken frames”, a term that refers to the portion of a chicken’s body that remains after all of the parts destined for human consumption have been removed and processed for the human food supply chain. This is important, so stay with me.įraming the Issue: The vast majority of animal protein sources that are included in commercially produced pet foods originate as slaughterhouse waste and from food animals that are deemed “not for human consumption” (officially classified as inedible). However, before we look at these different forms, we need to clear up a very basic source of confusion concerning the difference between pet grade and human grade (aka “edible”) chicken sources. Chicken is also found in pet foods in the form of retorted (canned), cooked or steamed, and raw. (For a detailed explanation of meals, see “ What’s the Deal with Meals“). As we will see, there is evidence that not all chicken ingredients found in pet foods are created equal.Įxtruded (dry) pet foods include chicken in the form of chicken meal, which is produced from the by-products of the human food industry using a process called rendering. This means that it can supply all of the essential amino acids in proportions that meet or exceed the dog’s daily requirements. In direct response to these trends, nutrition researchers have been studying the ingredients that are used in pet foods, including the effects of processing methods, such as rendering, cooking and feeding raw.Ĭhicken Ingredients: Chicken is one of the most common animal-source proteins found in commercial dog foods and, like many animal-source proteins, is considered to be a complete protein for dogs. Many are interested in selecting new types of foods for their dogs and prefer products that are less highly processed. In recent years, dog owners have started to demand more transparency from pet food manufacturers (a needed change, in my opinion).
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